{"id":155937,"date":"2025-08-23T01:33:32","date_gmt":"2025-08-23T05:33:32","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/?p=155937"},"modified":"2025-08-23T01:33:32","modified_gmt":"2025-08-23T05:33:32","slug":"knicks-emerge-as-favorites-in-race-for-malik-beasley","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/2025\/08\/23\/knicks-emerge-as-favorites-in-race-for-malik-beasley\/","title":{"rendered":"Knicks Emerge As Favorites In Race For Top Three Sharpshooter"},"content":{"rendered":"

NEW YORK, NY \u2013 The Knicks<\/a> have quietly moved into position. Malik Beasley<\/a>, once sidelined by an ongoing gambling investigation, is now back in play. Federal prosecutors informed his attorneys that he is no longer a target, effectively reopening his free agency. The timing changes everything. Detroit had prepared to sign him to a three-year, $42 million deal before pulling back. That decision left one of the league\u2019s most reliable perimeter scorers adrift in late summer. Now, New York\u2019s front office has stepped into the vacuum.<\/p>\n

Knicks Emerge As Favorites In Race For Top Three Sharpshooter<\/h2>\n

A Shooter\u2019s Case for New York<\/h3>\n
\"Malik
Jan 13, 2025; New York, New York, USA; Detroit Pistons guard Malik Beasley (5) celebrates his three point shot against New York Knicks center Karl-Anthony Towns (32) during the fourth quarter at Madison Square Garden. Mandatory Credit: Brad Penner-Imagn Images<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Beasley\u2019s r\u00e9sum\u00e9 is undeniable. He averaged 16.3 points across all 82 games with Detroit last season, finishing second in Sixth Man of the Year voting. His 319 made threes set a Pistons record and ranked second in the NBA, just one behind Anthony Edwards<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Malik Beasley\u2019s connection to the Knicks obviously makes sense. New York\u2019s offense has long lacked consistent floor spacing, especially off the bench. Beasley ranked second in both total bench points and total bench threes. He also sank 248 catch-and-shoot triples, the most since player tracking began in 2013-14. By all three-point shooting metrics, Beasley was among the top three shooters last season. That kind of production is rare and, for New York, tempting.<\/p>\n

The Financial Roadblocks<\/h3>\n

Detroit\u2019s signing of Caris LeVert<\/a> limited its ability to keep Beasley for more than $7.2 million. Other franchises\u2014Chicago, Indiana, New Orleans, Sacramento, Washington\u2014can still offer more. Brooklyn even holds over $20 million in space.<\/p>\n

Still, the Knicks’ pursuit of Malik is not about money. New York already used its taxpayer mid-level exception on Guerschon Yabusele<\/a>. That leaves only a veteran minimum slot for Beasley. Yet sources indicate New York remains undeterred. The appeal lies in opportunity: playing for a contender on basketball\u2019s biggest stage.<\/p>\n

A Reputation to Restore<\/h3>\n

Beasley\u2019s name carried weight long before this summer. The investigation, launched in June, froze his market one day before free agency. But after months of scrutiny, prosecutors confirmed he was never a target.<\/p>\n

His attorneys called the experience damaging and unfair. \u201cAn allegation with no charge, indictment or conviction should never have this consequence,\u201d Steve Haney told<\/a> ESPN. The Knicks interest in Malik Beasley now hinge on a simple truth: his reputation has survived intact.<\/p>\n

The Knicks\u2019 Calculus<\/h3>\n

The Knicks sit with 12 players under contract. Their roster needs more perimeter shooting as they finished 24th in three-pointers made. Beasley offers that fit. He also offers a chance to deepen a playoff rotation without jeopardizing future cap flexibility.<\/p>\n

For New York, the move would be classic low-risk, high-reward. A veteran minimum for one of the league\u2019s top shooters will tilt games in April and May.<\/p>\n

What Comes Next For The Knicks And Malik Beasley<\/h3>\n

The Knicks have made their interest clear. Rival teams can outspend them, but few can match their ability to seriously contend for a championship. In the wake of the investigation, Beasley needs a platform. Madison Square Garden provides one.<\/p>\n

NEW YORK, NY \u2013 The Knicks have quietly moved into position. Malik Beasley, once sidelined by an ongoing gambling investigation, is now back in play. Federal prosecutors informed his attorneys that he is no longer a target, effectively reopening his free agency. The timing changes everything. Detroit had prepared to sign him to a three-year, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5018,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"no","_lmt_disable":"","sfio_featured_image":false,"sfio_embed_code":"","_ef_editorial_meta_date_first-draft-date":"","_ef_editorial_meta_paragraph_assignment":"","_ef_editorial_meta_checkbox_needs-photo":"","_ef_editorial_meta_number_word-count":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[62,1608,10,12,3],"tags":[50219,3133,293,50251,4557],"class_list":["post-155937","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-nba","category-basketball","category-pistons","category-knicks","category-news","tag-2025-nba-free-agents","tag-fbi-investigation","tag-malik-beasley","tag-nba-contract","tag-nba-offseason"],"modified_by":"Frederick Okocha","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/155937","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5018"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=155937"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/155937\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":156025,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/155937\/revisions\/156025"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=155937"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=155937"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=155937"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}